This is the second time that Hines has led the 15th District. She served as chief judge from 1997 to 2001.

She was elected to the 15th District bench in 1992. Before her election, she was a Washtenaw County assistant prosecutor for 15 years.

Hines received her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Michigan.

Hines is a member of the State Bar Association, the Washtenaw County Bar Association, the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan, the American Judges Association, and the Michigan District Judges Association.

The Lansing State Journal reports this morning that Ingham and Branch counties have sued Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc., and a number of banks and mortgage companies, for unpaid transfer taxes on properties MERS purchased at foreclosure sales and later transferred to financial institutions.

According to Ingham County Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel Jr., although MERS buys the properties, when it later transfers ownership, it claims a transfer tax exemption for tranactions valued less than $100. Hetel believes that the county and state are owed “millions of dollars” in unpaid transfer taxes over the past decade.

From the LSJ:

Just what, exactly, MERS owns and the rights that ownership gives it have become contested questions as the foreclosure crisis has continued.

The company may claim to hold title to tens of millions of U.S. mortgages, but it invests no money in those loans and holds no interest in the debt underlying them.

For that reason, Michigan’s Court of Appeals ruled earlier this year that the company could not foreclose by advertisement, that is, could not foreclose without taking the case before a judge.

“There are some really profound contradictions built into the DNA of the MERS system,” said Christopher Peterson, a professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, who has written on MERS.

“When the financial institutions try to use MERS as a tool to foreclose on your house, they will commonly represent that MERS has an ownership stake that justifies allowing them to do that,” he said, “but when they talk to the county register of deeds offices about whether or not they have to pay fees or taxes, they claim not to have the ownership interest.”

The LSJ reports that counties in six other states have filed similar suits.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette says a portion of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act that requires police to return medical marijuana to a registered patient or primary caregiver upon release from custody is pre-empted by federal law.

According to Schuette, if the police return the seized marijuana, they could be prosecuted under federal law for distributing or aiding the distribution of marijuana.

[T]he MMMA specifically prohibits the forfeiture of marihuana possessed in connection with the medical use of marihuana. Section 4(h) of the Act provides:

“Any marihuana, marihuana paraphernalia, or licit property that is possessed, owned, or used in connection with the medical use of marihuana, as allowed under this act, or acts incidental to such use, shall not be seized or forfeited.” [MCL 333.26424(h); emphasis added.] …

But this does not conclude the analysis because, as stated above, federal law prohibits the manufacture, distribution, or possession of marihuana. The CSA [Controlled Substances Act] provides that “[e]xcept as authorized by this title, it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally — (1) to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a controlled substance . ….” 21 USC 841(a)(1). The CSA categorizes marihuana as a Schedule I controlled substance. 21 USC 812(c) (Schedule I) (c)(10). And its use remains a federal crime. See 21 USC 812(c)(10).7 Simple possession of marihuana is also a crime, 21 USC 844(a), and possession for “personal use” renders the offender “liable to the United States for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $10,000.” 21 USC 844a(a). …

Thus, a Michigan law enforcement officer cannot simultaneously comply with the federal prohibition against distribution or aiding and abetting the distribution or possession of marihuana and the state prohibition against forfeiture of marihuana. In other words, it is “impossible” for state law enforcement officers to comply with their state-law duty not to forfeit medical marihuana, and their federal-law duty not to distribute or aid in the distribution of marihuana. …

Under these circumstances, the unavoidable conclusion is that section 4(h) of the MMMA is preempted by the CSA to the extent it requires law enforcement officers to return marihuana to registered patients or caregivers. As a result, law enforcement officers are not required to return marihuana to a patient or caregiver.

Rep. Kevin Cotter (R-Mt. Pleasant)

By returning marihuana to a registered patient or caregiver, a law enforcement officer is exposing himself or herself to potential criminal and civil penalties under the CSA for the distribution of marihuana or for aiding or abetting the possession or distribution of marihuana.

Schuette’s opinion was issued in response to a query from Rep. Kevin Cotter (R-Mt. Pleasant)

We’ve received word from the Michigan Supreme Court’s Office of Public Information that tomorrow’s presentation of former Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Conrad L. Mallett Jr.’s portrait has been postponed. A new date has not been announced.

The event will take place during a special session of the Michigan Supreme Court at 3:30 p.m., November 16, at the Hall of Justice, 925 W. Ottawa Street, Lansing.

Mallett served on the Michigan Supreme Court from 1990 to 1999, including a term as Chief Justice from 1997 to 1998. After retiring from the Court, Mallett went to work for the Detroit Medical Center and is now President of Sinai Grace Hospital.

The portrait was painted by Washington, D.C., artist Simmie Knox, whose other commissions have included Martin Luther King, Jr., former President Bill Clinton, Mohammed Ali, Bill Cosby, and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

The Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society was founded in 1988 by Dorothy Comstock Riley, during her term as Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. A nonprofit organization, the Society preserves documents, records, and memorabilia relating to the Michigan Supreme Court.

The 25-member board oversees the production of publications, special events and other projects to achieve its goals in education and restoration. For more information about the Historical Society, contact Carrie Pickett by calling (517) 373-7589 or visit our website at www.micourthistory.org.

The Senate committee on Reforms, Restructuring and Reinventing will come back from their Thanksgiving holiday break to take up House Bill 5002, a bill to reform the Michigan Workers’ Compensation system.

The bill is strongly favored by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Manufacturers’ Association and the Michigan Self Insured Association. The bill passed along party lines — with Republicans in favor — in the House earlier this month.

The Senate is considering a substitute bill that attempts to address some of the concerns of opponents. But Democrats have voiced concerns that the bill goes too far and hurts injured workers.

The Associated Press has reported that the Michigan Supreme Court has declined to intervene in a dispute over a $100 million settlement with former and current female prisoners who claimed they were sexually harassed behind bars.

Oakland County wants the women’s names so victims of their crimes also can be paid. While that dispute is pending, the county wants the state to suspend payments.

But in a 3-2 decision in Neal v. Department of Corrections, et al., and Oakland County Reimbursement Unit, released Nov. 10, the Supreme Court said it won’t freeze payments and won’t overturn the Michigan Court of Appeals decision.

In their dissent, Justice Stephen Markman and Chief Justice Robert Young Jr. say the lack of intervention will hurt crime victims.

Markman wrote in the order: “I would immediately stay any further disbursements to prisoners until the Court of Appeals has finally determined: (a) whether notice to the victims is required by law to be provided by the MDOC before any proceeds of a class-action settlement are disbursed to prisoners; and (b) whether full, and not half, payments of restitution are required by law to be disbursed to victims of plaintiffs’ crimes before any disbursements are made to plaintiffs.”

Cheboygan attorney Donna Hansel received Lawyer-Guardian Ad Litem of the Year Award. Besides having represented children in foster care for eight years, she also is a licensed foster parent, having fostered more than 50 children.

Hansel’s nominator, Judge Robert John Butts of the Cheboygan County Probate Court, noted her “exceptional representation” of children, including efforts she made to find a permanent home for three young children whose parents died in a boating accident.

University of Michigan Law School Professor Vivek Sankaran was named Parent Attorney of the Year. He directs the Child Advocacy Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School, and also founded the Detroit Center for Family Advocacy.

And, Judge Leslie Kim Smith of Wayne County Circuit Court received the Jurist of the Year Award for her work as a family court judge. The FCRB cited the 24-year judge’s creation of an expedited reunification docket and parent orientation project, which helps increase the number of children reunified with their parents and reduce the time children spend in foster care.

Created by the Michigan Legislature in 1981, the FCRB serves as a statewide system of third-party review of the foster care system. It’s administered by the State Court Administrative Office, and is comprised of citizen volunteers who serve on one of 30 local review boards throughout the state.

The idea is that bar patrons could use the device, which is described in an NPR story as about the size of an ATM machine, to test their blood alcohol levels (and presumably their legal ability to drive a car) before hitting the road. It works like this: you feed $5 into the machine, and it supplies you with a disposable plastic mouthpiece to use. You blow into the SipSmart according to instructions, and it kicks out your blood alcohol reading and coupon for a taxi cab company.

One of the bar patrons quoted in the story said it’s nifty because most people have no idea what it feels like when they’ve reached their legal limit of “safe to drive.” That’s a great idea, from a self-awareness standpoint.

But for practical purposes, it may not be all that … well, practical. According to the reporter, older and presumably more responsible drinkers aren’t all that interested in the device because they’re either embarrassed to use it, or simply don’t want to know.

Bar owners aren’t nutty about it because, according to the story, if a customer knows that he’s had “enough” he’s going to stop drinking, which affects a publican’s bottom line.

And some of the younger users are having some fun with it, which in theory could boost sales — those crazy kids are using it for betting or competitive purposes, to see who could get the machine to give the highest reading.

So that made me wonder — could the SipSmart create a liability for a tavern owner before a patron ever leaves the building and creates a hazard on the roads? Let us know what you think.

One of the most famous turns of phrase to come out of the Supreme Court of the United States was Justice Potter Stewart’s quote about obscenity, and the difficulty we have in defining what it is. “But I know it when I see it,” he wrote in the 1964 opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio.

Michigan lawmakers are having the same trouble today, but the supposedly difficult-to-define concept is bullying.

It’s not for lack of trying — the Legislature has been trying for years to define it. But maybe the difficulty is more about politics than it is about the dictionary.

It used to be much easier to define a bully, if you believe a search of our website, which caters to an audience (lawyers, judges and other assorted legal types, lawmakers and policy wonks) that obsess more than the average person about language’s exact meaning. Back in 1994, the word “bully” first started to appear, referring to judges that some lawyers comfortably called bullies. Then stories about bully lawyers started to appear. Then a defendant who was an alleged bully. Then in 2000, we had the first mention of bullies in school. That was a story about a 15-year-old high school student who sued her school when the district wouldn’t protect her from a bullying classmate.

Somewhere along the way, a controversial phrase that protects morally motivated bullies was added to the bill. The House last Wednesday passed the anti-bullying legislation. Republicans favored it. Democrats criticized it for including language that they say allows for bullying if the bully is excusing his or her behavior as a result of deeply held religious or moral beliefs.

That language is likely to be removed as the bill is considered in the Senate, reports the Detroit Free Press.

From the Freep:

House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, said through his spokesman that a compromise is needed to protect all students.

“There is concern that the language would provide an excuse for bullying. And as far as he’s concerned, there is no excuse,” spokesman Ari Adler said.

The bill, approved by the Senate on Wednesday, requires school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies. But language added at the last minute says the policies would not prohibit “a statement of a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction of a school employee, school volunteer, pupil, or a pupil’s parent or guardian.”

Whatever compromise House Republicans come up with must “say that no child or adult can harass, torment or threaten a pupil in any of our schools,” Democratic Senate Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said.

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